In recent years, Brazil has grown greatly in international status, and all indications are that it will continue to do so. The authors of this book evaluate Brazil from a "Brazil in the world" viewpoint, placing the country in the current international system in relation to its capabilities, effects, and interest positions. On the basis of their co

This book is a succinct overview of the history of US-Brazilian relations over the past two decades. Monica Hirst considers economic relations between the two countries, presenting pertinent statistical information and detailing key economic policy disputes between the two governments (as well as the ongoing negotiations regarding a free trade agreement for the Americas). The book also looks at political issues such as military cooperation, nuclear energy, human rights and democracy, migration, the relative influence of both governments elsewhere in South America, relations in the context of multilateral organizations, drug trafficking, terrorism and the January 2003 transition from the Cardoso to the Lula presidency. It concludes with an essay that situates US-Brazilian relations in a broader analytical and comparative framework. The United States and Brazil will be of interest to students and scholars of economics, geography and politics and international relations in general.

July 12, 2011-Over the course of a generation, Brazil has emerged as both a driver of growth in South America and as an active force in world politics. A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)-sponsored Independent Task Force report asserts "that it is in the interest of the United States to understand Brazil as a complex international actor whose influence on the defining global issues of the day is only likely to increase."Brazil currently ranks as the world's fifth-largest landmass, fifth-largest population, and expects to soon be ranked the fifth largest economy. The report, Global Brazil and U.S.-Brazil Relations, recommends that "U.S. policymakers recognize Brazil's standing as a global actor, treat its emergence as an opportunity for the United States, and work with Brazil to develop complementary policies."The Task Force is chaired by former secretary of energy Samuel W. Bodman and former president of the World Bank James D. Wolfensohn, and directed by CFR Senior Fellow and Director for Latin America Studies, and Director of the Global Brazil Initiative Julia E. Sweig.Recognizing Brazil's global role, the report recommends that the Obama administration now fully endorse the country's bid for a seat as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It argues that "a formal endorsement from the United States for Brazil would go far to overcome lingering suspicion within the Brazilian government that the U.S. commitment to a mature relationship between equals is largely rhetorical."Domestically, Brazil's "inclusive growth has translated into a significant reduction of inequality, an expansion of the middle class, and a vibrant economy, all framed within a democratic context." Consequently, Brazil has been able to use its economic bona fides to leverage a stronger position in the international, commercial, and diplomatic arena.The report stresses the importance of regular communication between the presidents of both countries. "Cooperation between the United States and Brazil holds too much promise for miscommunication or inevitable disagreements to stand in the way of potential gains." A mature, working relationship means that "the United States and Brazil can help each other advance mutual interests even without wholesale policy agreements between the two," notes the report.The Task Force further recommends that- the U.S. Congress "include an elimination of the ethanol tariff in any bill regarding reform to the ethanol and biofuel tax credit regime."- the United States "take the first step to waive visa requirements for Brazilians by immediately reviewing Brazil's criteria for participation in the Visa Waiver Program."- the U.S. State Department create an Office for Brazilian Affairs and the National Security Council (NSC) centralize its efforts under a NSC director for Brazil in order to better coordinate the current decentralized U.S. policy.The bipartisan Task Force includes thirty distinguished experts on Brazil who represent a range of perspectives and backgrounds. The report includes a number of additional views by Task Force members, including one that notes, "We believe that a more gradual approach [regarding Brazil's inclusion as a full UNSC member] would likely have more success in navigating the diplomatic complexities presented by U.S. support for Brazil." Another view asserts, "If the United States supports, as the Obama administration has said it does, leadership structures in international institutions that are more reflective of international realities, it must support without qualifications Brazil's candidacy [for the UNSC]."

This book explains why Brazil is taking an increasingly prominent international role, how it conducts and plans its regional and global interactions, and what the South American giant intends to do with its rising international influence.

This book explores the evolution of Brazilian foreign relations in the last fifteen years, with a focus on continuities and change. The volume tackles three sets of themes: diplomacy and diplomatic culture, international security and international development cooperation. Central to these themes is how they all relate to Brazil’s international status, and its quest for higher standing. The authors draw on a wide variety of methodologies to grapple with the subject matter, from diplomatic history to international sociology and postcolonial studies. The result is a combination of different approaches that seek to account for the foreign relations of Brazil.

This book offers the first conceptually rigorous analysis of the political and institutional underpinnings of Brazil's recent rise. Using Brazil as a case study in multiparty presidentialism, the authors argue that Brazil's success stems from the combination of a constitutionally strong president and a robust system of checks and balances.

Since the 1970s, a 'critical' movement has been developing in the humanities and social sciences denouncing the existence of 'Western dominance' over the worldwide production and circulation of knowledge. However, thirty years after the emergence of this promising agenda in International Relations (IR), this discipline has not experienced a major shift. This volume offers a counter-intuitive and original contribution to the understanding of the global circulation of knowledge. In contrast to the literature, it argues that the internationalisation of social sciences in the designated 'Global South' is not conditioned by the existence of a presumably 'Western dominance'. Indeed, although discriminative practices such as Eurocentrism and gate-keeping exist, their existence does not lead to a unipolar structuration of IR internationalisation around ‘the West’. Based on these empirical results, this book reflexively questions the role of critique in the (re)production of the social and political order. Paradoxically, the anti-Eurocentric critical discourses reproduce the very Eurocentrism they criticise. This book offers methodological support to address this paradox by demonstrating how one can use discourse analysis and reflexivity to produce innovative results and decentre oneself from the vision of the world one has been socialised into. This work offers an insightful contribution to International Relations, Political Theory, Sociology and Qualitative Methodology. It will be useful to all students and scholars interested in critical theories, international political sociology, social sciences in Brazil and India, knowledge and discourse, Eurocentrism, as well as the future of reflexivity.